'Modern Family' Cast Talks Craziest Fan Encounters

By ZACH SEEMAYER

October 29, 2013

To celebrate USA Network airing Modern Family five nights a week, the network organized a Fan Appreciation Day, where the cast and creators of the beloved ABC sitcom came together to meet their fans, screen a beloved past Halloween episode, and perform a live table read of one of the show's past scripts.

With the throngs of beloved admirers crowding the Westwood Village Theater, many of the cast members opened up about the wildest or craziest fan experiences they've had since working on Modern Family.

"I've had a lot of really crazy fan encounters," said Modern Family's Nolan Gould. "I'm always a fan of the ones that are, like, on an escalator. And you're going up and they're going down and they suddenly turn around and start looking at you. Then they recognize you right at the bottom and they start running up the down escalator. There's a lot of great ones, and I'm just so grateful for our fans."

According to Julie Bowen, sometimes the fan encounter gets wild when the fan shares a little bit too much information.

"I do have the women who tell me that they are me, and it sometimes can go on for quite some time," said Bowen. "Sometimes it goes on... to when your kids are walking in on you and Ty having sex' -- let's just… I get where you're going… Let's just agree to leave it where it is.

"A woman screamed in my face while I was talking to my mother one time," recounted Jesse Tyler Ferguson. "She came right up to me and screamed. She wasn't sure if it was me, so she got super close to make sure it was, and then she screamed. And I thought I was being mugged!"

"I don't even think I could talk about it in public," said Ed O'Neill cryptically when asked about his craziest fan encounter.